I feel like I am repeating myself whenever I talk about Manchester United’s problems but the same things keep on happening.
They are making the same mistakes, and they are not even that difficult to prevent.
I have watched every minute of United’s four Premier League games this season and there are certainly areas of improvement, which seems a bizarre thing to say after they have just lost a derby 3-0.
I’ve highlighted the issues with Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation since he took charge at Old Trafford last season, and I am not a fan of that shape, but they have worked on it and you can tell.
They look more compact as a team now, when they are attacking or defending. They get in quite a good shape and the distances between their lines are much smaller, which makes them harder to play through.
Unfortunately for Amorim, the improvements they have made there have been overlooked because of the silly mistakes they are making in conceding goals which are costing them points.
When I look at some of the goals they have conceded this season, including Phil Foden’s opener for City at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, they are down to selection issues, and players being used in the wrong position, rather than the system itself.
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‘A simple run by Foden was all it took’
In the first half against City, United did well. They won the ball back four or five times high up the pitch and, with a bit more finesse in those counter-attacks, they could have scored themselves.
One of the problems with Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 is the two holding midfielders can be outnumbered but that did not happen at Etihad Stadium because Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, who were playing either side of Benjamin Sesko, dropped in.
The team narrowed up which helped Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte in midfield, because there were no big gaps.
Most of the time the defence and the midfield were close to each other too, rather than the defence dropping off like they did last season because of a lack of pace or confidence.
City did not completely play through them and tear them apart, and that’s not how they scored their first goal either.
What happened there is that you have got Fernandes, arguably one of the best number 10s in the world, playing in a deeper centre-midfield role as a number eight when his instincts are not defensive.
A simple run off the back from Foden was all it took to lose him.
Bruno Fernandes was watching Jeremy Doku, not Phil Foden when the ball comes across for Manchester City’s first goal
Yes, you could argue Luke Shaw might have done better when the ball was in the box but Foden is free by that point, because Fernandes switched off.
As I highlighted on Match of the Day, he is ball-watching when the cross comes over. I don’t think he is lazy, because he is back in position.
He is just not used to spotting runners and seeing danger.
Foden was unmarked when he ran into the box to head home Jeremy Doku’s cross and put Manchester City ahead
That’s the second time he has cost United a goal this season, because he also failed to track Emile Smith Rowe for Fulham’s equaliser when they dropped points at Craven Cottage in August.
The irony with Fernandes against City was that certain aspects of his play in the middle of the pitch were extremely good.
It’s not a totally stupid idea to play him there, because his passing from deep is tremendous to find the runners ahead of him, and he is technically excellent as well as being brave on the ball.
The problem is what happens without it. A player of his intelligence should be able to learn to switch on a bit more in defensive situations too, but it’s clearly not happening.
You just can’t play in that role if that’s a regular occurrence for you, and it is down to the manager to recognise that and put players in there who do it better.
More square pegs in round holes?
Fernandes is not the only United player I look at and think he is a square peg in a round hole.
Shaw has played in a back three before but he has spent the majority of his career as a dynamic left-back and it feels like he is being shoe-horned into a centre-back position under Amorim.
Again you can argue he should have the quality to adapt, and for Jeremy Doku to beat him so easily for the first goal was poor defending whether you are a left-back or a centre-half, but if any players are not completely comfortable in their roles, then it is going to affect the team.
For City’s second goal, again it was not down to the United system failing, more a mixture of things – and a multitude of individual mistakes.
Ugarte starts off on Foden but then follows the ball, like he did in the City move that led to their opener, and goes to press Nico O’Reilly, leaving Foden free.
From there it’s a knock-on effect.
Noussair Mazraoui comes out to Foden but can’t stop him playing a pass around the corner, Leny Yoro gets rolled by Doku – the one player you know you don’t get tight to – then Shaw is not strong or fast enough to stop Erling Haaland.
Ultimately, most goals are down to a mistake somewhere but when players are comfortable in the system, and in the right position within it, they do the right things – and the errors don’t stack up like that.
Graphic showing Manchester United’s starting XI against Manchester City: Bayindir, Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw, Mazraoui, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dorgu, Mbeumo, Diallo, Sesko
What next? The same thing will keep happening…
We have to remember that United’s start to the season has not been horrendous – they should have beaten Arsenal, they did beat Burnley and will feel they had enough chances in the first half against Fulham to get the job done there too.
But they got found out against City, and as the second half wore on they could have shipped even more goals.
We know by now Amorim won’t change his formation but he is bringing a lot of his problems on himself by picking the wrong players in the wrong position within it.
I still think Fernandes as a number 10, with two holding midfielders behind him, is one of the best in the world but it seems unlikely he will get the chance to show it at United.
If United continue to play the same personnel in the same system – including Fernandes in central midfield, a role he has not played often enough to understand – then the same things we are seeing are probably going to keep happening.
It’s very rare that players change their thinking on the pitch that much and while they don’t have that balance, they are going to keep getting caught out.
Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
